Arizona weekly citizen., 1887-07-23
DOWN IN TIE SWAMP
A TALK WITH AN OLD HIDE AMI
 LEATHER DEALER.
Varieties of Hides Brought to New York City-A Bale of White Mud from India. Pests of the Trade-Russia I.,,h Imported and Home Made.

City-A Bale of White Mud from India
 Pests of the Trade-Russia Leather. Imported and Home Made.
 'Come into the hide house g said Mfr Mel Horton. as he led the way into n yer-r spacious receiving room for untanna1 hides down in the Swamp" where tbe leather men most do congrecate Uun. dreds and thousands of hides were there but the odors of 'Araby the Blest'' were afar off
 Nearly lOO varieties of hides come into thls clty- By varieties l mean skins from different countries or localities. The man. her or curing, the form of package the quality of the grain-all these are differ. ent good judge will tell at n glance whence the hides come. Some of then are so expert that they can tell you moi only the country which produces the hides, but where there are several shin ping points on the same river, like the Para m South America. they can at 4 glance locate the poin; from which the goods were shipped. Europe. Africa. Asia, Australia, North, Central and Soutf America all contribute 10 the leather supply of the United States.
 Any time that you see a bale of white
 
 stand that the heathen Hindoo of eastern India has sent over lots of mud and n small amount of leather making material. You seethe hides are daubed with a mix ture of clay and lime, called chuenam. to keep the insects out. There are fifty hides in bale. and the purchaser expects them to average thirty pounds. Well, they always do. Mud is cheap out there and Shc honest Hindoo is absolutely careless O. the amount used so long as the proper average is obtained. Why, have seen a chunk of chuenam as big as a table in one Of these bales.
 Those hides, pointing to a heap, ''arC Texans. They are very large you ob serve, and are dried over a bush, a fence almost anything in fact. Ten of them will make load as big as ton of loose hay. These hides here we call the BOgoti book, owing to their place of origin anC the form of package. See, the hides are folded book like and are about the size oi the InyGeli plates. The hides from Mon teviGeo and other South American points are usually folded so that they are about nine feet long and two feet wide. You ccn pick ost the Orinoco hides. though readily. They are a little wider, nOi quite So long. and are full of holes along the border made by the stakes which held them to the sand while drying
 "Now lOol, at these hides. They arc genuine buffalo skins from India No not the American bison, but the real buffalo of the naturalists They make the cheapest quality of leather, but stiI very useful Their grain, you know, is the longest; hence their great utility foI counters and insOles in boots and shoes Well, we turn out over 100, ,OO0 of them annually alone, and there are others whc manufacture the leather in considerable quantities.
 "The greatest obstacle to overcome in preparing the hides and shipping them al- most around the world to New York is the insects. NariOus methods are employed to destroy or frustrate these pests. The chuenam method have explained to you. It's hard to tell which is the more ob- jectionable, the bugs or the mud. The South African hides are what we call a dry cure. They are rendered very dry by long exposure 10 the sun before shipping In that condition they resist the attack of insects very well. But the most success ful method, and that most widely used, is in dipping the hide in q solution of arsenic before drying This solution is both preservative and an insect.cide. Tanners have good reason to prefer this style of cure. Hides so treated will weigh fully 50 per cent. more when tanned into leath- CT. while the Chuenam hides lose from 10 To 1j per cent. in weight"
 "Where do you get the best hidess''
 '.The only good hides come from the temperate zone or from regions sufficiently elevated to possess C similar climate. Healthy cattle there have thick, natural hair and skins of good grain. But in the hot countries the hair k very thin, and the grain of leather made from such hides is coarse and poor. On the other hand, in the cold regions, the hair becomes very fine, and so thick as to make a kind of fur. which also destroys the grain of the leather In the temperate zones the win ter hides are better than those taken in the summer. The grain of the leather is then at its best
 Leaving Frankfort street and the region of sole leather, the reporter sought a large In2uufactUrtr of fine feathers, a leading producer or the American 'Rus- sia"
 What kinds Of leather do you makes'' queried the reporter.
 Al of the finer kinds. including har ness, enameled, colOred, Russia, and em- bossed leather for furniture and wall decoration. ''
 HOW AOts AOul l-L-1Ah NoAAlS1AN hANA the imp0rted;'
 What do you mean when you say 'Russlas' Do you mean red leather That is what the average American seems to understand by the term. But. if answer to your question, can truly say that our leather is better than the genuine Russia Whyg Because our tannage is better. Let me show you.'
 Two hides were brouCh. the one i'm ported. the other home made Russia The reporter could detect no difference.
 .The diligence is positive and in our fayor." resumed the leather man, as he pickcd up the genuine Russia, folded 1t tightly. and vigorously rolled the fold be tween finger and thumb. 'NUw look, said he, as he strengthened out the fold ssYoI see the surface is cracked and wrinkle remains. That is the weak point in this article, which, by the way, IS oi the best quality. It is impcrlectly tanned and colored. Now try this piece of oui lnanu.~cture There is not the slightest abrasion of the surface, you observe, nor does any wrinkle indicate where the fold WAS. The color, too, Is unihlured. Our leather is so much better tanned that it is soft and pliable and stands wear much better. n
 1.-The manner of producing this peculiar odor is kept a profound secret is it nots'
 Nonsense. oil of spruce is the agent which gives the scent Co tho leather. There is no secret about it. The only special knowledge required in the busi- ness is to know where to buy the best hides. how best to tan them, and how to sell to best advantage
 "How is this peculiar grain produced:'
 1.-The plain, coIorcd leather is placed upcn a beard which hns a specially pre- nared rough surface. ..ibow grease does ibe rest. The workman presses and rubs tha leather with block until it conforms 10 the surface of the wood. New York Sun.
 A Fortunate Brakeman Once Gf